Archive for the ‘Advertising’ Category

Antennas to Heaven: Advertising

Monday, September 1st, 2014

Silence the phone, draw the blinds and zone out to some experimental rock delights.

Hailing from the Big Apple, Advertising are a band of unbridled energy, producing kaleidoscopic sounds that take you through jilted math rock grooves to sombre post-punk and experimental rock in the space of minutes.

‘Ungdomshuset’ — the opener from debut album Pull — carries the flame for that idiosyncratic, spiky-edged guitar pop first championed by bands like Women, although Advertising’s take boasts a significant depth of sound, which may at first appear scatterbrained but is performed in such a way each new twist becomes a joyous turn as opposed to aimless wandering. It’s a track that thumbs its nose at the dumbed down approach to songwriting. You’re unlikely to hear the melody line being mimicked by the bass and guitar; each instrument has its own uniquely important section to fill, making for a refreshing step away from sun-soaked three chord pop, upholding the enjoyment so many have gotten from the albums of Women.

‘Liver’ is a frenzied dirge of less-than-attractive guitar squall and drunkenly stumbling bass that seems to gain a second wind half way through, as events explode into a riotous mess of machine-gunning power chords and blunt bass lead. ‘Taffy’, the heaviest track and the one most indebted to moody post-punk, begins quite cheerfully as major scales run up and down in gleeful abandon before morphing into a kraut rock groove that belays the sinister turn of events. Previously crystalline vocals are given swathes of distortion and spewed forth with growling conviction. It’s the most abrasive moment on the album and a showcase for the obvious hitting power behind Advertising.